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Miklós Horthy
Miklós Horthy de Nagybánya, German: Nikolaus Horthy Ritter von Nagybánya, Rear Admiral of the Kaiserliche und Königliche Kriegsmarine (Imperial and Royal Navy, abbreviated and better known as k.u.k. Kriegsmarine) since 27 February 1918. History Early Life Miklós Horthy was born at Kenderes to an old Calvinist noble family descended from István Horti, ennobled by King Ferdinand II in 1635. His father, István Horthy, was a member of the House of Magnates, the upper chamber of the Diet of Hungary, and lord of a 1,500 acre estate. He married Paula Halassy in 1857. Miklós was the fourth of their eight children. Horthy entered the Austro-Hungarian "Imperial and Royal Naval Academy" (k.u.k. Marine-Akademie) at Fiume at age 14. Because the official language of the naval academy was German, Horthy spoke Hungarian with a slight, but noticeable, Austro-German accent for the rest of his life. He also spoke Italian, Croatian, English, and French. As a young man, Horthy travelled around the world and served as a diplomat for Austria-Hungary in the Ottoman Empire and other countries. Horthy had served in the Mediterranean, Southeast Asia (Papua, New Guinea and Indonesia) as well as in China, where his dragon tattoo come from on his left arm (picture included, Horthy in the company of his family). Horthy married Magdolna Purgly in Arad in 1901. They had four children: Magdolna (1902), Paula (1903), István (1904) and Miklós (1907). From 1911 until 1914, he was a naval aide-de-camp to Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, for whom he had a great respect. Pre-Weltkrieg Various naval positions as: * 1896 Fregattenleutnant (Frigate Lieutenant) (fregatthadnagy – Sub-Lieutenant) * 1900 Linienschiffleutnant (Ship-of-the-Line Lieutenant) (sorhajóhadnagy – Lieutenant) * January 1901 SMS Sperber (commander of the vessel) * 1902 SMS Kranich (commander of the vessel) * June 1908 SMS Taurus (commander of the vessel) * August 1908 SMS Kaiser Karl VI (GDO-Gesamtdetailoffizier-First Officer, temporary) * 1 January 1909 Korvettenkapitän (Corvette Captain) (korvettkapitány – Lieutenant-Commander) * 1 November 1909 aide-de-camp to Emperor Franz Josef * 1 November 1911 Fregattenkapitän (Frigate Captain) (fregattkapitány – Commander) * December 1912 March 1913 SMS Budapest (commander of the vessel) * 20 January 1914 Linienschiffskapitän (Ship-of-the-Line Captain) (sorhajókapitány – Captain) The Weltkrieg Hold naval positions as: * August 1914 SMS Habsburg (commander of the vessel) * December 1914 SMS Novara (commander of the vessel) * 1 February 1918 SMS Prinz Eugen (1912) (commander of the vessel) * 27 February 1918 Konteradmiral (ellentengernagy – Rear Admiral) * 27 February 1918 appointed (last) Commander in Chief of the fleet (over 11 admirals and 24 senior Linienschiffskapitän) by Emperor Karl I * 30 October 1918 Vizeadmiral (altengernagy – Vice Admiral) At the beginning of Weltkieg, Horthy was commander of the pre-dreadnought battleship SMS Habsburg. In 1915, he earned a reputation for boldness while commanding the new light cruiser SMS Novara. He planned the 1917 attack on the Otranto Barrage, which resulted in the Battle of the Strait of Otranto, the largest naval engagement of the war in the Adriatic Sea. A consolidated British, French and Italian fleet met the Austro-Hungarian force. Despite the numerical superiority of the Allied fleet, the Austrian force emerged from the battle victorious. The Austrian fleet remained relatively unscathed, however Horthy was wounded. After the Cattaro mutiny of February 1918, Emperor Charles I of Austria (Charles IV as King of Hungary) selected Horthy over many more senior commanders as the new Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Fleet in March 1918. In June, Horthy planned another attack on Otranto, and in a departure from the cautious strategy of his predecessors, he committed the empire's battleships to the mission. While sailing through the night, the dreadnought SMS Szent István met Italian MAS torpedo boats and was sunk, causing Horthy to abort the mission. See also *Austria *Hungary *Austria-Hungary Category:People Category:Europeans Category:Austrian-related topics